Hypothetical situation

**Demon of Light** · 05-02-2003, 19:26

Situation:

You have a brain tumor. Any sort of chemotherapy is not an option. In fact, there is only one option that will keep you alive. You need to have surgery to extract the tumor. Absent surgery, you would live 3-7 years with the last 10 months or so dedicated to dealing with the final stages of the tumor. Surgery offers a 90% chance of survival BUT also a 90% chance of permanant brain damage. The tumor is too far in and too entwined with the rest of the brain matter to for the surgeons to really believe they can extract it without giving you an inadverdant lobotomy. The degree of brain damage is more or less an unknown factor but the odds are stacked more heavily towards moderate to severe brain damage than light brain damage. (An outside chance exists that you'll be rendered a vegetable)

Your family wants the surgery. They are adament about not losing you and have promised to care for you if you emerge with some form of retardation. The implication here though is that they WILL NOT allow you to commit suicide if the surgery goes badly so you would have to live with the results. (unless you retain enough motor control and intelligence to bypass this.)

The decision is yours; do you take the guarenteed 3-7 years existing as the person you are and dying as that person or do you opt for surgery and take the much longer lifespan living in a diminished state if you are are among the 81% of the people who both live and are damaged in the process.
Do you take the surgery and pray that you are one the lucky 9 of 100 people to walk away the same as they came?

Who are you and what do you value?

**Stormer** · 05-02-2003, 19:31

I take the Sugery,

**Big King Sanctaphrax** · 05-02-2003, 19:40

I'd die as me.

**Ser Clegane** · 05-02-2003, 19:48

With these odds I#d take the 3-7 years and try to consciously teke the best out of these years

**Lord Godfrey** · 05-02-2003, 19:52

Postpone the surgery as long as possible, new medical techniques and treatments happen every year. Enjoy the remaining years as much as possible, prepare for the inevitable, and hope for a miracle.

**Mount Suribachi** · 05-02-2003, 20:08

The answers a no-brainer

Refuse the surgery, enjoy life, look forward to heaven (which I most surely believe in).

**Dîn-Heru** · 05-02-2003, 20:54

I would take 3-7 years.

#1 reason alot could happen in those years, new methods of curing the illness etc.

#2 When I die I die, it is going to happen some day anyway. Who knows you can get in an accident returning home from the hospital. Faith is uncertain at best. If it is my destiny to die in that manner, then so be it.

#3 I only care for about a handful of people, none of who are my close family. (Note, I am reasoning on basis of my current situation, if I had a girlfriend,(one girl inparticular), I might consider otherwise, or if she wanted me to take the surgery,(even if she wasn't my girlfriend) Therefore, their offer to take care of me wouldn't mean anything to me.

#4 If I end up like a vegetable, ie no moter skills, and even less verbal capability than I already have,a continued life would not mean anything, as it would not be a life, only an existence.( this mainly goes in the case where I have some brainfunction, as to understand what goes on around, but not being able to influence it)

#5 My own well being don't matter to me. As I've said I only care for a handful of people. Ending up like a vegetable, would not only make my life miserable for me, but being a mere shadow of my former self it would also in the end cause alot of straint on those around me, considering that I would be pissed as hell over still being alive

. And in the end they would have regreted that they wanted me to have the surgery.

Ps I am not really as cold-hearted as I might seem. I am actually very symphatetic, and it wouldn't be easy for me to tell people about my decicion, but I am also not easily swayed by emotional dramatics and as I've said sort of said; I have a tendency to say to hell with it, so when faith says that it is time to go, then it is time to go. But with that said, even though I belive in destiny, I also belive that that destiny will be fulfilled through the choices you make (ie free will).

To conclude, none of what I have written should be taken with the utmost seriousness, ( it is all true mind you, but I don't take it seriously, so neither should anybody else

), and given the right circumstances I might even reconsider my stance.

Btw. Why are you asking this question?

and sorry for ranting away, kinda lost track after the second reason.

**Big King Sanctaphrax** · 05-02-2003, 20:56

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Btw. Why are you asking this question?

That's a good point. There's noting wrong is there, Demon?

**Monk** · 05-02-2003, 21:20

id take the 3 to 7 years, pray, look forward to heaven. im sure they have great LAN matches up there

**Dimeola** · 05-02-2003, 22:05

I would not wish to live if I could not be myself. Would take the 3 - 7 years.....the odds would not be good enough for me to come out at an acceptable level. To me that would not be `alive`. Seek second and third and fourth opinions for treatment. Dont give up....and once you make this decision you must resign yourself to that path. Regrets would drive you crazy. Resolve to live the remaining years to their fullest. And be open to new medical procedures.
Dimeolas

**Kanuni** · 05-02-2003, 23:19

I'd take the surgery.

Do not listen to advices here about possible new methods to be invented. Ask proffessionals instead.

I personnally would not like to live with the thought of dying in 3-7 years for sure. It is like dying everyday. I'd like to die once instead.

I wish from God with all my heart that the person in this situation you are talking about gets well with the surgery

**Knight_Yellow** · 05-02-2003, 23:23

accept fate and live the remainder of my life enjoying myself.

my grandfather broke his back a few years back and hes in a home for the disabled and i know first hand that he would rather have died.

i myself would rather be fully functional rather than impared to any extent.

its not just u that would end up a vegetable think of what it would be like on ur loved ones.

unless ur the 9 in a 100 that comes back normal the very person u are dies with or without the surgery.

**t1master** · 05-02-2003, 23:41

no sawing of my skull is permitted.

i'd opt for an alternative medical diagnosis and see what else i could do.

**Warmongerer** · 05-03-2003, 03:37

I would never wish to be experimented on, even if it were possible to extend my lifespan. From my point of view, this life is not the pinnacle of existance. There are bigger and better things after death, and I would not wish to remain on this earth any longer than I am needed. Aside from this, there is also the matter of possible vegetation as a side-effect, which is not something to be taken lightly. Being in a vegetated state is like being dead, only there is also an endless, excruciating pain of idle existance, of a conscious feeling of nothing where there should be something. This is a state I would not wish on my worst enemies.

**bhutavarna** · 05-03-2003, 04:18

forget the surgery. i think living as myself is more important than living itself. who cares what the family wants or what the doctor says. besides, human body is capable of more than science can comprehend. who knows...

**Matt Deckard** · 05-03-2003, 12:29

i would get hold of an m60 and go on a Rambo style rampage. I always wanted to go out with a bang

**Richard the Lionheart** · 05-03-2003, 19:10

I'd accept the fact that we all gotta go sometime, and just say 'hey its time for me to go' and spend the rest of my life doing everything i wanted to.

**BDC** · 05-04-2003, 19:12

No surgery, live as wildly and have as good a time as you can on the basis that you won't last long anyway.

**some_totalwar_dude** · 05-04-2003, 23:48

I would go for the 3-7 years option because the chances of a succsesfull operation are just to low.
that I would do everything I never could or dare to do

**Obex** · 05-05-2003, 02:08

Could i still play video games with brain damage?

Im going to have to say enjoy the time youve got, and deal with it.

**lookbeyond23** · 05-05-2003, 04:30

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Lord Godfrey @ May 02 2003,08:52)]Postpone the surgery as long as possible, new medical techniques and treatments happen every year. Enjoy the remaining years as much as possible, prepare for the inevitable, and hope for a miracle.

I like them ideas.

The thing is thought you said...

Surgery offers a 90% chance of survival BUT also a 90% chance of permanant brain damage.

The odds stack as followed

10/100 chance you will die
81/100 chance you will survive with brain damage
9/100 chance you will survive without brain damage.

I'd choose to live, wait for medical advancements and just enjoy it. The effects of the retardation outweight death by severity any day

**A.Saturnus** · 05-05-2003, 10:04

I would simply order a new brain ay Harrot`s.

It`s better to be dead than to be an idiot...
...do`h

**Popeye** · 05-05-2003, 16:27

I want a second opinion from another doctor.

**Portuguese Rebel** · 05-09-2003, 02:32

Considering the fact that permanent brain damage can render someone retarded or even kill him, if the damage is bad enough, why would anyone want to have this surgery?

In my experience as a biology graduate i have seen amazing advances in few years. Medical research is advancing very fast. It is increasing the possibilitys. Today they are making procedures only dreamed of 7 years ago...

3-7 yrs is a long time in todays scientific process. Perhaps for a life 3-7yrs doesn't sound to good, but i'll ask you this: Is living 3-7yrs with a severe handicap really good?
One of my favourite phrases, from a professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon:
If people knew how little we know, nobody would enter in an hospital

**RisingSun** · 05-09-2003, 02:50

Id get 2nd and 3rd opinions, and if they say the same, id wait out the sickness and see if anything happens where i could cure it, while at the same time, i would live my life as ive always wanted to, fast and uncalcualtingly (Is that a word

) But really, why do you ask? I sincerely hope this is not your, or a loved ones situation we are talking about here. If so, i offer my sincere condolences.

**Papewaio** · 05-09-2003, 11:41

Well at least you would know how long you have to live and use that knowledge appropriatly:

1/ 3-7 years is generally too short to get lung cancer from smoking and liver damage from drinking. So I would probably take up both.

2/ Take up adrenal sports like rock climbing and sky diving. If you die, well its not like you were going to be around another 70 years.

3/ As someone with cancer I have had to re-evaluate my life. Every year I do this and right now I am waiting for my latest biopsy. The good news is that I have the most mild form possible and I have had the oppourtunity to really think about what I want in life. The bad news is I hate getting the treatments from the chemist... as the product is primarily used to treat genital warts and its secondary treatment is for BCCs 'Yes it says right temple not right testicle'.

4/ If it is life shortening don't worry about accumlating a debt and/or a nest egg. Don't get to short sighted.

5/ Do something really dangerous that is contributing to society.

6/ Travel to exotic places which are relatively dangerous or unknown.

7/ Live life to the max. Most of us wake up and look at what we have done for the last 7 years and wonder what the hell have we done?

8/ Don't go out with regrets. Fixating on being angry or worried makes about as much sense as having eaten something disgusting and swirling the taste around in your mouth, move on and eat something nice. Move on to something that makes you happy.

9/ Know the true difference between pleasure and happiness, pain and damage, situation and response. Go beyond just reacting to the situation and being a stimulus monkey. Sure a 3 year life span is short, but you still can leverage 3 years of quality rather then 60 mediocre years of what ifs.

**Papewaio** · 05-14-2003, 10:31

BTW how hypothetical are we talking here D of L?

**Doug-Thompson** · 05-14-2003, 20:46

I have three kids. I would not send any of them to their daddy's funeral.

My youngest should not go through the death of his father sometime between the ages of 8 and 12.

If I came out of the operation retarded, we'd play together.

External factors aside, life -- almost any life, just to breathe -- is great.

And I could still play first-person shooters.

Thread: Hypothetical situation

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